March can feel like the longest month during the school year, but as we close out Women’s History Month and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, we’re able to look forward to longer and warmer days ahead in April.
We are glad to know that so many educators and school staff have received their first dose and that many are starting to get their second shots, as well. If you haven’t gotten your vaccine yet, please know that there are plenty of ways to make appointments available on the Vaccine Resources page. We also encourage staff to remember to take advantage of the Covid testing provided by BPS each week, and we continue to advocate that the testing be available on-site on a rotating basis.
Thank you to all of the BPS families and BTU educators who attended this year’s Parent2Parent conference this past Saturday. Special thanks to BTU organizers Ilene and Ari who spearheaded the planning with families! It was our highest-attended community event yet with over 120 participants and 9 different languages interpreted. We will be creating a BTU web page for families with resources shared at the conference.
As we continue to advocate for the schools our students deserve through MOA’s and our master contract, our parent partnerships – particularly with BIPOC families – have never been stronger. After the conference, we also joined a group of growing BIPOC families speaking out and demanding a voice at the table at the Departement of Elementary and Secondary Education. See the coverage in the Globe and check out their demands.
In more good news, we filed a grievance several months ago that has now resulted in our paras at the Dever and the UP Schools collectively being retroactively compensated over $105,000 in collective backpay for overtime pay that was improperly paid. We are proud that we insisted that the Boston Public Schools respect the rights of these workers, many of whom are our lowest paid members, and pay them what the law requires. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO has made wage theft an issue at the state level, and this is a perfect example of why it is so important to have strong unions backing up our members.
We know that simultaneous teaching continues to be a major challenge. While we continue to advocate for the continuation and use of flexible schedules to allow for all remote or all-in person instruction, in the meantime BPS has created this one-stop splash page with links to resources, ideas, professional learning opportunities, and other supports. We will continue to advocate for the resources needed to improve both in-person and remote instruction while decreasing the need for simultaneous instruction.
The AFT and First Book are working together to help our members help their students succeed. Whether you’re planning a book distribution, creating care closets to support the whole child, or getting books for summer literacy programs, First Book and the AFT can help with everything from planning to title curation. Register for First Book today! Registration is free and helps us to distribute thousands of free books at our annual Book Fair.